The Power of Positive Thinking
by FicreaderT
Summary: Episode 4.19 - the building collapse episode - with the addition of what I thought could be a couple of 'missing' scenes, my take on what they were all thinking as well as an extended ending because there could always be more McRoll. Covers pretty much the entire episode & includes lots of Steve/Catherine relationship & Steve/Danny brotherhood. Spoilers for 4.19.


_I started this story right after episode 4.19 aired, but real life and indecision about the ending forced a delay in posting. I am posting it now because I finally found the inspiration to finish it._

_This pretty much encompasses 4.19 in its entirely, so it includes major spoilers for that entire episode. __I am, of course, a huge McRoll fan so there__'__s lots of Steve/Catherine in this story, but I also love Steve and Danny__'__s brotherly partnership and thought this episode highlighted it well, so I made no effort to exclude any of that._

_Most of the situations and dialogue come directly from the episode. I__'__ve added what I consider could be a couple of 'missing' scenes and my own version of some thoughts and feelings a visual medium like television doesn__'__t allow us viewers to experience. I also added an extended ending because, as much as I liked the show__'__s ending, I felt this story needed some additional Steve & Catherine time. I can only take credit for anything you don__'__t recognize from the show, everything else belongs to the genius of Five-0__'__s writers, production crew and cast. _

_Any mistakes are my own and I apologize in advance for any you might encounter. I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Steve was disoriented, but as he regained consciousness he knew where he was. There had been a bomb - they were trapped in an underground parking garage that had collapsed trapping them under tons of rubble. He stayed calm and kept his wits about him; he had been trained to survive situations like these and knew what he needed to do: Think and not panic.

He assessed his condition first. His limbs worked fine, nothing felt broken or dislocated, although he had one hell of a headache and his ears were ringing something fierce. He managed to roll to his knees and then to a sitting position, shaking off the vertigo that threatened so he could begin his assessment. First and foremost, determine the stability of their location and risk of another collapse. He retrieved his compact flashlight from one of his pockets and used its beam to assess the surroundings in a matter of moments. There was no easily discernible way out, but he was confident that the area was stable, for now. But where was his partner?

"Danny!" He called his partner's name once, twice, three times, but with no answer. The stubborn man was going to make Steve find him, so he got up and started looking.

The beam of his light fell upon a leg covered by chunks of concrete. Steve's heart was in his throat for a moment and he tried again.

"Danny? Danny! Danny!"

Trying not to panic he shone his light up the legs, on to the torso and, finally finding the man's face, experienced a heady feeling of relief at realizing it was not his partner, but rather the man they had discovered immediately before the explosion.

He retrieved his cell from his pocket and was unsurprised, but no less disappointed to find there was no service with which to contact the surface. He knew search and rescue would be on scene imminently but unfortunately, but it was going to take time. Now he just had to find his partner and hoped to God he was alive.

Steve moved some of the concrete off the unknown victim and wasn't surprised he couldn't find a pulse. The poor man had been beaten within inches of his life and left secured to a chair, it was no wonder he hadn't survived the explosion and collapse. He couldn't worry about the rest of the team right now and had to assume they'd made it out safely but Danny, he _knew_ Danny was down here with him.

When he heard his partner cough it felt like the most amazing sound he'd ever heard.

"Danny!"

He shone his light in what he thought was the right direction and was flooded with relief to see a hand emerge from the rubble.

"Danny!"

"Steve."

He made his way to his friend's side as quickly as he could, grabbed the other man's hand and held on like his life depended on it. "Danny. Hey. I got you, buddy." He had no idea the pure joy that showed on his face, but he wouldn't have cared anyway. "I'm right here. I got you."

Danny was trapped and Steve knew he needed to assess his partner's condition which meant getting any rubble off as quickly as possible. He was thankful they had both been wearing their tac vests before the explosion; he was certain Danny would be a lot worse off if the Kevlar hadn't helped protect his torso from the impacts of the rubble.

As Steve had been working to free him from the rubble Danny had been assessing his body for any injuries and had felt a couple. "My leg's pinned. I think I broke a rib." He moved his head, in an effort to see, and groaned from the effort.

Steve was straining, trying to free his partner's leg, but seemed to be having no luck.

"Where's the other guy? Huh?"

Steve didn't mince words, he didn't have time. "He's dead." He crouched down next to his partner and took his hand again. "Okay, listen to me, this thing's too heavy, I can't lift it. I got no cell service down here, so I can't call for help."

Danny replied with a weak "Okay" as Steve continued.

"I'm gonna go get something to give me some leverage, get this thing off your leg, okay? I'll be right back."

"All right". As Steve turned to move away, though, Danny held tight to his friend's hand. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't go just yet."

"Danny, relax. it's gonna be okay."

"Is it okay? 'Cause…" Danny took a breath and groaned, "I'm in a confined space with a bunch of concrete on top of me, and given my present condition, that's not the best situation for me. You know what I mean?"

"Right, right, right. Claustrophobia."

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"Take a deep breath okay?"

"No, that's no good, it makes it worse."

Steve understood that friend was fighting not to panic, but he knew time was of the essence and was honest with the man - he was going to have to manage on his own so Steve could find something to use as a lever.

"Danny, I got to get this off your leg. You understand me?"

"All right, all right."

He was a little unnerved though when Danny starting talking, listing what seemed to be names and baseball positions.

"Hey, hey, hey. What are you doing?"

"Helps me relax. I just recite the '86 Mets lineup". He laughed nervously. "It helps me relax. Oh that's great."

Steve joined in his friend's laughter. "That's good. No, that's good."

"I'll be back, all right?"

"Okay." Danny replied and resumed his recitation.

* * *

Steve was not surprised in the least and even a little proud that Danny had stepped up to the plate, overcome his fear and remained calm while trapped under rubble in a dark, confined space. The blonde was still reciting baseball rosters, but the SEAL could tell Danny was barely still holding it together by the time his partner returned.

"Where the hell you been? I moved on to the '92 roster. It's a tough year."

"I found a flashlight. We're gonna need that." Steve told him.

Danny acknowledged the comment, but was starting to lose his battle with his emotions and practically begged, "You gotta get this thing off of me. Ah man."

Steve was working as efficiently as possible but knew he was going to need both hands and all his considerable strength to shift the object and hold it in place long enough for Danny to free himself.

"When I lift this, you feel the weight come off your leg, I need you to roll out, slide your leg out, okay? But you got to do it quick. I don't know how long I can hold this."

"That's very encouraging. I'm not even sure I can move."

In Steve's mind, the idea that Danny couldn't move enough to free himself was not an option. It was just wasn't, and he told him so.

"All right, you ready? One. Two. Three."

Mission accomplished, they worked together to free the trapped limb but Danny's groans of pain pointed to another problem and Steve quickly found a piece of rebar protruding from his friend's side.

For just a brief moment the fear Steve was so adeptly keeping at bay threatened to worm its way to the surface, and he closed his eyes for a second to push back the concern that he would fail in his mission to get Danny out in one piece. It was his training and the knowledge of how devastating the alternative would be that allowed him to act without a second thought, to remove the metal and disinfect the wound with peroxide knowing he was causing his best friend, his brother, indescribable pain that he would need to remain conscious through. Steve knew the pain would be intense, but the worst would be over in a few seconds because he'd lived it, but he also knew the kind of man his partner was, and that he could take it.

He reminded his friend, "I'm right here. All right? You ready?" Steve glanced over at Danny, "One. Two, Three." He withdrew the rebar and poured the hydroxide solution over the wound, hating that he was causing his friend's pain but knowing it was necessary. "All right. All right. Stay with me, Danny. Stay with me. Hey, who played left? '86 Mets - left field. Who was it?"

Danny groaned through the pain but answered Steve's question. "George Foster, and he was replaced by Mookie Wilson after two seasons."

Steve wasn't listening, just happy to see that his partner's pain was subsiding and he was still conscious.

He applied a torn piece of his shirt to the wound and directed Danny's hand to hold it in place while he readied some duct tape. "Keep the pressure. Keep the pressure, Danny. Stay with me."

Danny wiped the moisture from his eyes and asked, "How we looking? Is it good?"

"It's good. Pretty good."

"Oh", Danny groaned, as Steve helped him up.

Now that Danny was mobile, he wanted to leave and when he realized they were trapped he lashed out, blaming Steve for their predicament. Which, frankly, pissed his partner off a little bit. He didn't need to be attacked by the man whose life he had just saved. But he also knew his partner, and since Danny wore his emotions on his sleeve he knew his friend was scared and lashing out to try and deal with it.

The truth was Steve was also struggling at times to compartmentalize his fear and to hold it together. But he had to, he had no choice, because neither of them was getting out alive if he let his emotions take hold. In this situation fear was the enemy. Fear that they weren't going to make it out, that Gracie would lose her dad, but also the fear that others were trapped somewhere under the rubble as well. He had to cling to the belief that Lou Grover, SWAT and the rest of his team were safe; that Catherine was safe because fear of the alternative was paralyzing so he couldn't, wouldn't consider the possibility. He knew search and rescue must be on scene and protocol was to try and locate survivors so they needed to make some noise and since he needed to distract Danny he handed him a piece of twisted metal and they went to work.

* * *

Up on the surface Catherine was also struggling to compartmentalize her fear. The fear that Steve had not survived the explosion and that she would never again hear his voice or feel his embrace would paralyze her if she let it take hold. So she didn't. She couldn't. But she couldn't stand around doing nothing either. Upon realizing Steve and Danny were buried beneath the rubble she had briefly let her panic rule and her initial instinct had been to try and dig them out, but Lou Grover stopped her and she was able to take a moment and get a grip. She was no stranger to the protocol in these types of situations and knew exactly what needed to be done.

Chin and Kono had left to work the case; they owed it to Steve and Danny to figure out who was responsible for this disaster and there was little they could do on site but wait. Chin knew, though, without having to ask, that Catherine could keep it together enough to be a help, not a hinderance and had no qualms about leaving her there to assist. That was good, because she had no intention of going anywhere. Thank God for Lou Grover, because she didn't want to have to deal with anyone trying to tell her to back off and let the pros handle it; that she was only in the way - he made sure she was in the loop and kept them off her back, until they realized she was an asset to be utilized and then they welcomed her assistance.

As much as everyone wanted to just start digging, they needed to identify whether anyone was still alive under the rubble to be rescued. They used microphones, dropping them down as low as possible, to try and hear any evidence of man-made sounds. Catherine grabbed one, and a set of headphones and tried to estimate where she'd last seen Steve before heading out of the garage. She listened at the first spot for about 5 minutes then moved to another. The waiting was agonizing, but at least she was doing something. There! She heard something - a clanging. "I got something! Over here!"

Lou Grover grabbed a megaphone and called for quiet, "All right, hold the work! Hold the work! Everybody quiet! Everybody stop moving!"

Catherine listened with baited breath for the sounds she had heard and was rewarded within a few seconds - what sounded like something metal clanging every couple of seconds. She looked up at Lou, "It's them. They're alive!" She sagged with relief as she heard Lou calling for the fire chief. Someone was alive down there and if anyone could survive an explosion and building collapse it was her SEAL.

An extraction plan was in the works now that search and rescue knew approximately where the guys were located, but it was still going to take hours, especially since they really didn't know exactly where they were situated and what kind of conditions they were in.

It was what Catherine had expected to hear; although far from what she was hoping for. They needed more details; a chance for Steve and Danny to help them out and Catherine had an idea. If they could get a microphone close enough to hear them, maybe they could use a cellular repeater to boost the signal and get a call through.

Luckily, search and rescue had one as standard equipment and Catherine hastily set it up and connected it to a long cable to be dropped into the hole she'd had the microphone in. Her heart was pounding with the realization she may be able to speak to Steve and Danny soon. But, she also knew it may not work for a variety of reasons. Their phone's batteries may have died, or the phones themselves could have been damaged by falling rubble. She decided to try Steve's phone first and placed the call, holding her breath as she listened to it ring.

* * *

Steve continued to bang on a section of metal ductwork with a length of rebar, even though he was tired and sore and starting to wonder if anyone could hear the noise. He also knew his partner was struggling with the reality of their situation and being in a tight, dark space for such a long time.

"This is pointless. They can't hear us."

At Danny's comment Steve stopped for a moment, to look back at his friend, then continued making noise.

"Oh. Oh."

Steve turned again. "What?"

"Can I die in peace, please?"

Steve knew he needed to stay calm to keep Danny calm, but also that they needed to continue doing everything they could to help facilitate their rescue. "You're tired and you're hurting; just take a break, all right?"

"Hey. Do me a favor."

"What?"

"Please, for once in your life, just pretend you're a human being, and take this situation for what it is. Can you do that for me, please?"

"I'm keenly aware of the situation…"

"Really? Because the human response to certain death, and, uh, the prospect of never seeing the people you love ever again is curling up into the fetal position and making a mess in your pants."

Danny was giving up, letting his fears get the best of him and, disappointed that he wasn't holding it together better, taking it out on his partner. Steve understood, he knew what Danny was feeling was an absolutely normal human emotion and to be expected in a situation such as theirs. He also knew his training, of the types Danny had never received, was helping him keep his emotions in check. The emotions were definitely there, lurking - the fear that they would run out of air, that he wouldn't be able to get his partner out safely and Grace would be devastated by the loss of her Danno, the fear that he wouldn't make it out to Catherine, or that he _would_ make it out, only to find out that she was also missing, or worse, dead. Because of his training, though, he was able to push the fear aside and close it up in a separate box in his mind, which allowed him to maintain a clear head and focus on what needed to be done.

"Okay. What good's that gonna do you, huh? Fear is a state of mind, Danny, okay?" Steve emphasized his words with the piece of rebar he was holding. "You gotta fight through it."

"Oh, I - I disagree. I think that fear is actually your friend. It tells you when you're supposed to avoid a situation. But you never listen to it. That is why we are here in the first place."

Steve had been letting Danny rant at him, blaming him for acting on a bad tip from convicted arms dealer JC Dekker, but we wasn't going to take it lying down.

"That would be a compelling argument, my friend, if you weren't afraid of absolutely everything. This morning, you had a near mental breakdown because your girlfriend met your kid. It doesn't matter what the situation is for you. You gravitate to the worst possible outcomes."

Steve went a little farther than he intended to, though, and got Danny riled up, which didn't bode well for his partner's breathing or their limited oxygen supply.

"Once again, I'm proven right! We never should have gone in this situation blind in the first place!"

Raising his voice caused Danny to cough and Steve moved immediately from frustrated with his partner to concerned. "You all right?"

"No, I'm not all right." Danny's little outburst seemed to have calmed and refocused him, though, and he diverted his attention to the body of the man who had been tied to the chair.

"Listen, all right? I'm sorry, okay? Just please relax. The air is getting thin in here. We got to conserve this oxygen."

Danny sighed, "Okay."

He settled next to the unknown victim as Steve returned to making noise. Now that his head was clearer his detective senses were tingling and he searched the body for a wallet, finding only two pills that he couldn't identify. He found the man's phone, but it was useless, destroyed. Further examination yielded a small camera attached to a button hole of the victim's dress shirt. They realized someone had been watching them, and waited for them to arrive before detonating the bomb.

Just then, Danny heard a cell phone ringing. "Is that you?" he asked his partner.

Steve fumbled for his phone and felt it vibrating. He managed to extricate it from his pocket and looked at the display. "It's Catherine." He looked up, wondering how he was getting a signal. A second later the reality hit him that his lieutenant must be still alive; up on the surface working to help get them out. The relief he felt was evident in his voice as he repeated himself, "It's Catherine".

He quickly moved over to sit down next to Danny before answering the call and activating the speaker function, "Catherine."

"Steve!" The relief is Catherine's voice was just as evident. "Thank God. Are you guys all right?"

Steve wanted to say more to her, but knew this was neither the time nor the place. "Yeah, Danny's a little banged up, but we're okay. Everybody else get out?"

Catherine had the phone on speaker as well and Captain Grover answered that question,  
"All accounted for except you two stragglers. We got the whole cavalry up here working to get you guys out."

Danny chimed in, "Great. We got an ETA on that? I'm literally being held together by duct tape."

"Yeah, we're working on it. We need to know your exact location." Catherine replied.

"We're in the maintenance room, south side of the garage."

Steve and Danny heard an unidentified male voice say, "Got it. Get over here." and assumed correctly it was Hank, the fire chief, or someone else in charge of search and rescue.

Grover was worried about the conditions his friends were in and asked, "Steve, how's the Oxygen?"

"It's running low. Is there anything we can do from this end to speed things up?"

"Just hang tight. Listen, the entire area is unstable. You go moving something you're not supposed to, the whole damn thing'll come crashing down."

The sound of metal creaking in their concrete dungeon at that moment drove the SWAT captain's words home and Danny commented, "Ah, that's encouraging,"

Catherine changed the subject, "Steve, what happened? You were right behind us."

His girlfriend's words returned Steve's mind to the case, "Listen, you think you can establish a video call? I want to show you something." He proceeded to tell them why they had been delayed in their exit, hearing the ringing phone and finding a man beaten and tied to a chair who warned them of the bomb moments before it detonated. He wanted to keep speaking with Catherine, but had to disconnect the call and wait with his partner for her to call back.

It only took Catherine a few minutes to retrieve her tablet and establish a Skype call. When they answered Danny took the lead while Steve just smiled somewhat goofily at his girlfriend for a moment, "Hi-ya. It's not as bad as it looks."

Catherine appreciated her friend's efforts and directed her words to Danny, even though her eyes were focused on Steve, "Thanks for trying to make me feel better."

Grover was over Catherine's right shoulder, "You say you wanted to show us something."

Lou's words brought Steve back to the business at hand, "Yeah, take a look at this," Danny winced as he shifted slightly to allow Steve to aim the camera at the dead man's face. "Cath, can you capture that?"

She took a screen shot, "Got it. I'll run these photos through the database and see if I can get an I.D.".

"Look for any connection to JC Dekker and his crew, all right? I want to know how this guy got down here," Steve added.

"Roger that." She also got a physical description of the victim and captured a screen shot of the pills Danny had found so they could have Max try to identify the drug and see if it would lead anywhere. Unfortunately, they needed to end the call to conserve battery life and so Catherine could work on identifying the victim and forward details over to Max. She told Steve and Danny to hang in there before disconnecting and getting back to work.

Catherine had no luck determining the dead man's identity from the photo but fortunately it didn't take Max too long to identify the pills and another Skype call was established, this time with the quirky medical examiner. He told his friends the pills they found were warfarin, an anti-coagulant and through an examination of the victim's chest determined he had likely been prescribed them post-surgery rather than for a chronic medical condition. Steve asked Max to pull medical records for recent surgeries and cross-reference them in hopes of finding a match to their dead man. Then, he and Danny just sat back to wait, bolstered by the knowledge that rescue was coming.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chin and Kono had been out at Halawa, 're-interviewing' Dekker about the 'tip' he gave them. As they returned to the collapse site Kono overheard a pretty young woman ask about Danny and give her name as Amber Vitale. All of Five-0 had heard about the New Jersey transplant whose life Danny had saved just a short time after a chance meeting at a gas station on the North Shore and Kono put two and two together and realized this was Danny's new girlfriend. She introduced herself and told her that Danny was alive, and they were in the process of working to get him out. Knowing the blonde detective would want to see her when he finally made it back to the surface, Kono told her she'd find her an out-of-the-way place to wait and keep her updated as to what was happening.

Chin caught up with Grover to get an update and learned that they knew where their trapped teammates were, but hadn't been able to find a way down. Chin had nothing but respect and admiration for Catherine as a valuable member of their team, but he also knew the depth of the feelings she and their fearless leader had for each other and that Catherine would be struggling with the personal side, although, like Steve she wasn't likely to admit it. He also figured it couldn't hurt to ask.

He turned to her, "How you holding up?"

Chin could see that Catherine struggled with the question for a moment, looking skyward and trying to keep it together before she answered, "I'm, uh… I'm just trying to stay positive."

They were both refocused back to the task at hand when Max arrived on scene with folders containing medical records for patients who had gall bladder or kidney surgeries within the last 3 months - 23 patients matched their John Doe's description but it only took Chin a moment to identify their victim by his name, Marcus Dekker. A little research turned up that the victim was their prison informant's younger brother, had a law degree from UCLA which had been paid for by his elder sibling, and had recently returned to Hawaii and was working to pass the Bar exam.

They established another video call and shared what they had discovered with their trapped teammates.

Grover wondered aloud how the Dekker brothers' relationship had soured so quickly, "So how did their relationship go from that to this?"

Steve had a different theory, "Unless Dekker didn't put him down here."

Catherine asked, "What are you thinking, Steve?

"Dekker's been working with the ATF for months now, right? What if somebody he helped to put away found that out and used it against him?"

Danny was on the same page with his partner, "Right, so Dekker gets a fake tip about a gun deal, he passes it on. They know he's gonna pass it on. So, bomb goes off, a few cops get killed, and, uh, Dekker takes the fall."

"And as an added insult, throw his brother down there to send a message," Chin added.

"It's a cold way to get revenge." Grover voiced what they were all thinking and Steve wrapped their new theory up into a nice, neat bow.

"And we got caught in the middle."

* * *

Armed with the victim's identify and a working theory Chin and Kono headed back out to Halawa to make a next-of-kin notification to JC Dekker, and hopefully get the inmate to cooperate and provide the name of his source. When he learned his innocent, younger brother had been killed the inmate agreed to do more than that for a chance to meet privately and face to face with the man who had sent his brother to his death. Chin arranged the meeting with the prison officials, and they sat back to wait.

* * *

Steve and Danny continued to pass the time, trying to keep their minds off their predicament. Given their oxygen situation they spent little time talking, only discussing the case or Steve educating Danny on standard operating procedures for this type of rescue, and what they might expect.

Much of the time was spent in silence, each man lost in his own thoughts. Danny thought about his new relationship, regretting that he might not get a chance to pursue it, but mostly about his daughter. Despite his negative outlook on the situation, the compact detective just couldn't resign himself to the possibility of leaving Grace fatherless. What was worse was he had always assumed he could count on Steve to look out for her if something happened to him, and the idea of her losing both of them at the same time terrified him.

Steve knew Danny was struggling, and he didn't really want to poke the hornet's nest. Ever mindful of what was necessary to keep himself and his partner alive for long enough to be rescued he sat quietly, running over possible rescue scenarios in his mind and what preparation and actions on his part would be necessary for each one. He also couldn't help his thoughts wandering to Catherine. He had absolute faith that she would keep it together, conduct herself as a professional, even as she struggled internally. Knowing how he would feel if she were the one trapped he knew with the utmost certainty that the situation was tearing her up on the inside and he hated doing that to her. He had every intention of getting out alive, but knew nothing was guaranteed.

He had not shed his tac vest, preferring to keep it on as a measure of protection and because he figured some of what he carried with it and on it might come in handy at some point. Either way, it was sweltering where they were trapped, and there was no way get some fresh air in to the space, so dehydration was a definite concern. He found an old can and a trickle of water he deemed to be potable. After he had some he offered the can to Danny who not so politely declined.

"I'd prefer not to drink toilet water."

Steve, knowing his partner was still struggling with the situation, didn't take the bait, instead calmly telling his partner, "It isn't toilet water. It's not from a fresh mountain spring, okay, but it's not sewage. It's drinkable, Danny. Take it."

Danny took the can and peered unhappily at the contents, but didn't drink any of the liquid.

Steve was starting to get frustrated and it was reflected in his voice. "Don't look at it. It's over 100 degrees down here. If you want to live drink the water."

Danny did as he was told, grimacing with the last swallow, "Ah, it's awesome."

Steve didn't feel the need to reply to his friend, so they resumed their silent vigil.

* * *

While Steve was running rescue scenarios deep underground, Catherine and Grover were getting an update from the fire chief up on the surface.

The chief and his team had looked at every possible extraction point and none of them were stable enough to bring in the equipment they needed.

Catherine glanced sharply at the man, not willing to believe what she thought she was hearing, "Hey, how are we supposed to get them out?". She leveled her gaze at Hank, almost challenging him; if he thought for a second she was going to lay down quietly and let him say rescue was not an option, he had another thing coming.

"We can't." At that moment Catherine's heart clenched, but the chief only paused before continuing, "At least not from where they are." Hank glanced up at Grover as he said it, seeking his support. Grover, in turn, shifted his gaze to Catherine to gauge her reaction and saw her exhale, as if trying to keep calm. Hank continued, 'We got to get them moving. Now, there's a mechanical room 30 yards from their position." He was looking at the plans as we spoke, indicating the target area, "If they can somehow make their way over there, we may be able to pull them up through the ventilation shaft."

Grover couldn't believe what he was hearing about the possible fate of his friends, "Thirty yards, that might as well be 30 miles."

Hank stood by his plan, "Well, I didn't say it was gonna be easy. They're gonna have to navigate some tight spaces, move heavy debris with little to no light."

Catherine shook her head, unwilling or unable to fully accept what she was hearing. She believed with every fiber of her being if anyone could do it, it would be Steve. But he wasn't alone down there. He was down there with his best friend, his brother, and Steve would _never _leave Danny behind, and she wouldn't want him to. "Well, they'll never make it. Danny's injured."

She addressed her statement to the fire chief but found herself having to look away for a moment to regain control of her emotions. She was terrified and there was a tightness in her chest to prove it. Catherine knew the chances of this rescue operation succeeding were not good, and there was a very real possibility the man she loved would not be coming out of this alive.

Grover, being less personally involved than Catherine was able to step back for a moment and asked the chief the tough question, "Hank, just tell me one thing. Is this our _only_ option?"

"If we do nothing, they'll run out of oxygen."

Well, the decision was made. Now they just needed to communicate it to Steve and Danny. Catherine stood there for a moment, with her head down and Hank stepped away. Lou Grover had been impressed with how Catherine had handled herself throughout the entire ordeal, knowing her close, personal relationship with his SEAL friend. She had remained professional, kept a level head, and made valuable contributions to the rescue effort, but he could sense she was struggling. He could also sense that she was too strong to let herself fall apart. He spoke softly, "Hey, you want me to tell them?"

She looked up, eyes holding just a hint of moisture, and shook her head. "No, I'm good. Let's, uh… let's make the call."

* * *

Catherine knew Steve had a compass on his watch, so having only a distance and direction to travel should be enough to get them where they needed to be, assuming there weren't any insurmountable obstacles along the way. It turned out that Grover did most of the talking and mostly to Danny, who was less than thrilled with the rescue plan.

"Oh, good. The, uh… escape-through-the-vent trick. That's, that's the big plan? That's what we're gonna do? That's great."

Grover tried to reassure him, "It's our best shot."

"Okay, well, what about the part where we're not supposed to touch anything, if we do, the whole thing could cave in on us?"

"That's still true," Grover admitted, and implored them, "so please be careful".

Steve and Catherine had been quietly listening to Danny and Grover's exchange over the video feed, they all knew the decision was already made and Danny just needed to get his frustrations with the plan out of his system. As his conversation with Danny ended Grover wanted to give Catherine as much privacy as possible to speak with Steve, knowing the plan was risky, and there was a very real chance this would be the last time they would ever see each other. He put a hand on Catherine's shoulder and walked out of the frame.

Danny, seeing this, handed the phone to Steve to afford his friend the same courtesy with the woman he loved. Steve looked at his lieutenant for a moment, admiring her beauty despite the cuts and dirt on her face. He longed to be able to reach out and touch her, to pull her into his arms and hold her. He understood the reality of what they needed to do, and that there was a very real chance he would not be emerging alive. He couldn't bring himself to say any kind of 'goodbye' to her, though, they had been through and survived too much. He wanted to reassure everyone, himself included that despite the dire situation, there was still hope because it wasn't over yet.

"Do me a favor. You know that sushi place you like so much on King Street? Give them a call, make a reservation for tonight, you and me, okay? I'm just gonna have to grab a quick shower first." He flashed her a weak, but warm smile, which was the best he could do given the situation.

Catherine smiled in return but Steve could see that she was holding back tears. She heard her SEAL's words but understood the message behind them. Steve was reassuring her that he would do everything in his power to walk away from the situation in one piece, and was willing to spend a few hundred dollars on a special dinner at her favorite restaurant because he wanted, _needed_, to be physically close and spend some time alone with her after this ordeal. They had always expressed their emotions with actions instead of words and she knew he loved her, just as he knew she loved him. She was touched by his sentiment, but knew she couldn't lose it now, she needed to stay positive for her man.

"Will do," was all she could manage but Steve heard her message loud and clear. He thought, 'I love you, too', although he couldn't voice those words. It had been their thing for years - never making it to dinner but he knew she was going to hold him to this date and that meant there was no other option except to get out of there alive so he could hold her in his arms again. The alternative was simply unacceptable to both of them.

Steve gazed at his pretty lieutenant as long as he could but all too quickly she turned her attention to Danny, "Hey, Danny, there's someone here who wants to talk to you." As Catherine motioned to someone outside the frame and a pretty young woman stepped in to it Steve handed the phone to his partner and got up, allowing his friend to have his own semi-private conversation.

Steve couldn't help but overhear his partner's conversation, though, and smiled slightly as Amber gave as good as she got - she seemed like a good fit for Danny. When the conversation turned to Grace, though, Steve's heart clenched slightly before locking his resolve to get them both out alive firmly back into place. When Danny disconnected the call with Amber he made a quick phone call to Grace's school, to let them know Amber would be picking his daughter up. He sat for a moment, holding Steve's phone and steeling himself for what they were about to do before he handed the device back to his partner and took his offered hand, grateful for the help getting up. There was no time to waste, they had places to be.

* * *

Chin had been in touch with Grover while Dekker was at his face-to-face with an inmate named Spider so he knew what was unfolding at the site of the collapse. It was all on Steve and Danny now, they needed to travel 30 yards - only 90 feet, but he and Kono could only imagine what sort of obstacles their teammates would be facing. They both wanted to get back to the site ASAP, but they owed it to their friends to follow the leads, maybe they would be able to provide some answers.

Dekker came through - he returned to the interview room with a contraband cell that had belonged to Spider and some interesting information. The entire thing was set up by an anonymous someone on the outside - Spider was offered $20,000 to get Dekker to pass along the "tip" about the gun buy, but only if Dekker gave the tip to Five-0.

Their team had been the targets all along.

* * *

Steve and Danny were making decent progress and had been able to manage quite a bit of distance toward their goal. Steve had taken the lead, clearing a path and trying to make things as easy as possible for his friend, but he could tell that Danny was struggling and in pain. To the detective's credit, though, he didn't complain once, which worried Steve more.

Danny groaned as he maneuvered through a small space and sat down gingerly on a chunk of concrete. He twisted, shining his light around the space to put eyes on his partner.

"We work together, we get out of here. All right?" Steve's words reassured him. Despite occasionally blustering to the contrary, he trusted his neanderthal, crazy-ass SEAL partner with his life. Steve motioned to a piece of the debris, "Give me a hand with this thing."

Danny slowly rose and turned to where Steve indicated, but not without one of his trademark quips, "Oh, yeah. The worst game of Jenga ever."

Danny led the way through another tight space but Steve could sense that their progress was wearing his partner down, so he hoped to keep him talking. "She's pretty."

Danny wasn't sure he'd heard Steve correctly as he navigated another tricky obstacle. "What?"

"Amber. Can tell she really cares about you, too."

"Yeah, I'll probably screw it up like I do everything else. Right? Not in my DNA to be happy."

Steve realized this conversation was going the opposite of where he wanted and was quick to vehemently correct his friend, "I didn't mean that. That's not what I meant."

"No, I'm officially agreeing with you." Danny was short of breath as he continued to climb through the rubble, "There is something wrong with the way that I am built. I - I can't, uh… I can't just enjoy happiness like regular people, you know?"

"You don't think you're being a little too hard on yourself?"

"No, I don't. When I was a kid, my parents would go out to eat dinner. If they were late coming home, I used to imagine that they died in a car wreck just 'cause they were 15 minutes late. And I used to talk to God and beg him I said, 'please just take my dad, not my mom,' 'cause I couldn't live without my mom. I mean, every time something good happens in my life, I - I just… I think of when it's gonna end. That's all I can think about." He groaned in pain, and stopped moving, choosing instead to take a seat and rest.

Steve had been listening to his partner, but was surprised by what he was hearing. This was very unlike Danny, to be so forthcoming, so insightful about something he'd always just considered to be part of his friend's personality. He shone his light in an effort to see the other man's face. "You for real?"

"Yeah."

"That's not normal." Steve didn't mean to sound so blunt, but he was never one to mince words.

"I know it's not normal." Danny looked up and met his partner's gaze. "Listen to this. On my wedding day, I'm looking at Rachel, just about to say 'I do', and all I can see is the day she's gonna serve me with divorce papers." He sighed. "No joke. And I… I don't know, man. The only sustained happiness I ever felt in my life so far is Grace. And, you know, it's just a matter of time before she turns 18, and then she's out the door and she… marries some schmuck. I don't know."

Steve was aghast at what he was hearing. Not because it sounded like Danny was giving up, but because he felt for his friend. He'd had no idea Danny was so unhappy. Granted, it explained a lot, but Danny had so much good in his life that he should be able to appreciate.  
"You gotta change, man. You can't live like that."

"Well, I'd like very much to change. It's just not so simple, you know?"

"Take Amber, all right? Start small. Instead of pushing her away, like you always do, fixate on how she's gonna break your heart, she'd gonna destroy your life…" Steve paused to take a few breaths, "… bring her in, bring her closer."

Danny rolled Steve's words in his head for a moment and thought 'why not?' If he made it out of this alive, why not take the opportunity to try and change? "All right, I'll give it a shot."

"What?" Steve wasn't sure he'd heard him.

"I said I'll give it a shot. I make it out of here alive, I'll give it a shot."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"That's good. That's good." Steve was genuinely impressed at his friend's attempt at a positive mental attitude, and hoped he meant it.

"Thank you." Danny moved to his knees with a groan and started crawling in the direction they'd been headed in. Just as he stopped for a moment, there were creaks and groans from the debris around them and everything started shaking and rumbling like an earthquake. Both men instinctively wrapped their arms over their heads to try and shield themselves from falling debris but could do little else.

* * *

Up on the surface the rescue team felt it, too. Once the rumbling stopped Grover voiced what they were all thinking, "What the hell was that?"

Fearing the worst, Catherine immediately grabbed her cell and tried to re-establish communication with Steve. She headed back toward the base of operations with the phone to her ear while Grover followed at a distance. She tried Steve's number three times, getting a fast busy signal each time. She finally looked back at the SWAT captain, "Damn it, I can't get ahold of them."

Just then one of the team called out, "All nonessential personnel, fall back now!"

Everyone started doing as they were told, as calls of "Move, move, move" echoed throughout the area. Everyone, that is, except Catherine and Grover. Hank, who was nearby, told them gently but firmly, "That includes you two."

Grover answered for both of them, "We're not going anywhere."

* * *

Steve was straining, attempting to move debris that had fallen in their path, but it was no use. They were completely trapped. Danny watched his partner's back until Steve cried out from the exertion.

"What's doing?"

Steve was panting as he replied, "It's too heavy.

"You know, I'm trying, uh, really hard to stay positive here." Suddenly Steve twisted, shining his light around. "What are you looking for?"

Steve stopped, shining the light on something above Danny's head, "I'm looking for that. You see that piece of pipe hanging over you, Danny? Break it off and seal off one end for me." Steve sounded like a man with a plan, and Danny allowed some hope to flutter again.

"What are you going to do with it?" Danny supported his injured side with his right hand as he reached up with his left and did as Steve asked.

"This slab of concrete - I'm gonna blow it up."

"You're gonna what? How does this not end with both of us dying? You're gonna blow something up?" By all appearances, Steve was deadly serious, but when he opened a pocket on his tac vest and removed a grenade Danny considered his question answered. He started pounding one end of the pipe with a chunk of concrete in an effort to flatten it out as he listened to the rest of the explanation.

"Called a directional charge. Sends the explosive energy in one direction. Anything that's behind it, theoretically, is reasonably safe."

Danny paused for a moment and looked at his partner, "It's, what, reasonably… Nothing of what you just said sounds reasonable, okay?" He continued to pound on the pipe, but it seemed to be as flat as it was going to get. "It's the best I could do, okay?" He held it out to Steve who reached over and took it. Danny watched as his partner disassembled the concussive center of the grenade and dumped the black powder in the pipe. "This gonna work?"

Steve stopped what he was doing and took the flashlight out of his mouth. He paused for just a moment before answering truthfully, "I don't know'.

Later, Danny would be able to admit that he was impressed, watching his partner fashion a bomb from bits of things he took from various pockets on his cargo pants and tac vest, and whatever he could find in the rubble. He stayed quiet, watching the man work, and daring to hope that they might still get out alive.

Steve turned toward him and shone the light, "Back up. Get up in there." he told him before turning back to his task.

"Hold on. Before we do this, I just want you to know one thing."

Steve turned his attention to his partner, "What?"

"Whatever happens, I really, really, from the bottom of my heart… hate you so much." Danny couldn't hold in his nervous laughter, and Steve joined in briefly, having heard the intent of his partner's message loud and clear.

"I love you, too, pal." Steve spoke softly, and had returned his attention to the bomb he was fashioning; honestly not sure Danny even heard him but knowing it didn't matter.

"I guess there's a lot worse people to die under a big pile of concrete with, huh?"

Steve lit a flame and turned to his friend, "You want to do the honors?"

"No, no. It's your stupid idea - you do it." Danny exhaled as he tried to get back as far as possible. Steve studied his friend for a moment, knowing this could very well be it, before he lit the wick and moved back as far as he could. Danny covered his ears and his head with his arms and squeezed his eyes shut but Steve kept his eyes open, watching the flame, just in case an adjustment was needed, before he assumed the same position as Danny and waited for the explosion that would either save their lives or kill them instantly.

* * *

Catherine was trying valiantly not to panic, but was honestly at a loss for what to do. They could no longer contact Steve and Danny, had no proof that a secondary collapse hadn't trapped them or killed them. She refused to give up, though, and they finished rigging the harness down the ventilation shaft and waited. Chin and Kono re-joined them in their silent vigil, each of the individuals on the surface praying in their own way for any sign that their colleagues were still alive to be rescued.

Suddenly, there was an explosion and Grover called out, "Hold the work!"

Catherine voiced what they were all thinking, "What is that?"

Hank asked for a light and shone it down the shaft. They collectively held their breath, waiting for something, anything. Catherine whispered, "Come on."

Grover asked "Hank, you see anything down there?" Everyone gathered looked to the fire chief, but he didn't answer, instead continuing to concentrate on the ventilation shaft. Grover tried to get the man's attention. "Hank!" Then they heard it, they _all_ heard it, a faint coughing.

Hank shouted, "We got movement. Bring up the line, now!" The coughing continued, and got louder as workers tightened the cable to bring up the line. "Go! Bring up the line!"

The cranking continued and they finally saw what they'd been watching for. A blonde head emerging from the hole. Chin knelt down to his friend, "I got you. Danny, come on. Come on." He reached down for his friend's arm. "Here you go, here you go. I got you. I got you."

Danny groaned as Kono reached down for his other arm and they collectively worked to help him climb the rest of the way out of the hole and finally got him on his feet. Kono wrapped her arm around him as someone else worked to disentangle him from the harness.

Grover spoke aloud what was on everyone's mind, "Thank God."

But there was only one thing on the blonde detective's mind. "Steve. You got to get Steve. He's still down there."

Chin wrapped an arm around their friend's other side, "Come on, let's get that looked at, huh?"

Catherine's heart fluttered when she heard the confirmation that Steve was still alive and reminded herself to breathe. She appreciated Grover's words, "Let's get that thing back down there and get McGarrett."

She called down the shaft, not really caring whether he could hear her, "It's coming Steve. It's coming."

Those gathered around the hole watched anxiously as the line was cranked back up, and then they saw it. A dirty arm emerged from the hole, reaching out for purchase, and Grover was the first to reach out and grab it. "Oh yeah, come on. This way, this way." As soon as Catherine could reach Steve's other arm she added her efforts and they both helped Five-0's leader climb out of the hole. "It's good to see you topside, Commander." Steve looked at Lou and nodded his appreciation.

Catherine just needed to touch him and put her hand on his face as she looked him over, checking for injuries. They waited anxiously for him to be free of the harness and the moment he was he reached for her almost desperately, grabbed hold and didn't let go. The embrace was so tight that those gathered couldn't tell where one ended and the other began as they watched the pair who, with their eyes closed, obviously relished the feeling of being in each other's arms again.

They broke apart to gaze upon each other, and Catherine put her hands on either side of Steve's face. "I never worried. Never worried." she told him with a smile.

He smiled back at her, "I don't doubt it", before pulling her back into another embrace. They stayed that way for a few more seconds before realizing there were others waiting to greet their friend.

Chin was next, reaching out to give Steve a heartfelt hug, and then Kono, who told him "It's good to see you, boss." He stepped away from Kono and looked for Catherine, finding her a few feet away watching him. Their eyes met and she moved to his side where he pulled her into yet another embrace, just wanting to be close.

She wrapped her arms up around his shoulders, feeling so unbelievably grateful to have him back in one piece, but concerned about how he really was, what injuries he may be hiding. They separated slightly to stand next to each other and Steve kept his right arm over her shoulders and she her left around his waist. "Let's find somewhere quiet so I can take a look at you."

He protested, "I'm fine, Cath" but allowed her to guide him anyway.

The stopped by one of the HPD vehicles and Catherine backed her SEAL up against the hood. She turned to face him, searching his eyes, wanting him to know she was serious. "Are you really okay?"

He brought his hands up to rest on either side of her face and replied honestly. "I'm good. Really. I'm sure I'll be black and blue tomorrow and probably a little sore, but nothing a swim won't fix" he joked.

She smiled ruefully at him as she shook her head. "You know, sailor, I'm not sure I'm going to let you out of our bed tomorrow morning."

He raised his eyebrows at her suggestion and smiled, "I think I can handle that."

Over Catherine's shoulder he saw Chin approaching cautiously, not wanting to interrupt, and shook his head slightly asking his friend to stay away for a moment. She noticed the movement and looked over her shoulder, seeing Chin hovering and surmised that he needed to talk with Steve. Before leaving him alone she reminded him, "You need to get checked out, you know, and I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."

He sighed, sometimes he thought his girlfriend knew him too well. "Yeah." He gathered her into his arms again, "But not yet.".

She relaxed into him, wrapping her arms up around his shoulders again, holding him as close as she could. 'You're right, you definitely need to take that shower before dinner," she teased as she wrinkled her nose.

"Told you."

"I am in no way letting you off the hook for dinner, but not tonight, okay?"

He pulled back to look at her face, "Absolutely, whenever you want." He leaned forward to place a soft, lingering kiss on her lips which she gladly accepted and reciprocated. He sighed again, "I don't suppose you'll change your mind about me getting checked out, will you," he looked at her with his puppy dog eyes, but she was having none of it.

"Not a chance, Commander.

Catherine wanted to speak with Lou Grover, to thank him for having her back as well as Steve's and Danny's, even though she knew it wasn't necessary, so she left Steve to get his update from Chin.

* * *

Steve slung his dirty tac vest over his shoulder and looked around for his partner. He saw a squad car pull up running lights and sirens and watched as Grace and Amber rushed out and ran to embrace Danny. He smiled at the appearance of his partner's happy family before he started heading that way. He needed to see Danny again before heading home, make sure the blonde detective was really okay.

Danny saw him approach and told Amber, "Hey, I want you to meet somebody."

Steve caught Grace's eye as he got closer and smiled at her, to reassure her he was okay, too. She returned his smile but kept her eyes on him, as if evaluating his condition.

Steve returned his attention to his partner who was making introductions pointing to one, then the other. "This is Steve McGarrett. Amber." Nobody knew that he added silently in his head, 'He's the man who saved my life, and the best friend I'll ever have.'

Steve normally would have at least shaken the young woman's hand but he was filthy and sore and it didn't seem necessary. He was, however, pleased to finally meet her, and he told her so. Meanwhile, Grace hadn't taken her eyes off her Uncle Steve and seemed about ready to burst, so he opened an arm to her, letting her climb under it for a quick hug as he kissed the top of her head before releasing her to go stand next to Danny.

Danny turned to Amber, "Guys, give me one sec with Steve, all right?" She nodded and escorted Grace a distance away to give to them some privacy. "Well, if this is the, uh, power of positive thinking, I, uh…, I like it. It's good."

Steve wasn't ready to completely let his partner off the hook though, it just wasn't their way, and after the emotional upheaval they had just been through, he wanted to inject a note of normalcy back into their relationship. "You know, it's the same as you, uh… you admitting that I was right, but I don't want to put words in your mouth or anything."

Danny looked back at the pile of rubble they had been trapped under. "When we were in there, you said, uh…, you know, before you did the thing with the bomb you said what you said and I want you to know, I… I feel the same way."

Steve pretended to be slightly confused, "How is that exactly?"

"Gonna make me say it?" He opened his arms to his partner, "Come here." Steve stepped in to the hug before Danny added "I love you."

Steve patted his friend's back, "I love you, buddy."

They broke apart after a couple of seconds. "I - I, uh, got to go get this properly stitched up." and Steve wholeheartedly agreed. "And I'm not coming in to work tomorrow. Or for the rest of the week."

If Danny was expecting an argument, he didn't get one. "Good."

"All right? I'm taking Amber to Maui. Heal up over there, relax."

Once again, Steve agreed. "Nice beaches over there."

"Nice beaches? I won't see a single one of them. All right?"

Steve just told him, "Good. Call me," and watched him walk away, favoring his right leg that had been trapped under the rubble. He continued watching as Danny wrapped an arm around Amber on his left and Grace on his right and they all headed off to find a ride to the hospital. He knew his partner was in good hands.

Steve turned when he heard Chin call out to him and saw the man approaching with Kono. Chin had already given him the rundown on what they had learned about Dekker and Spider, and how the entire thing had been set up by someone on the outside but he obviously had an update now.

"Fong ran Spider's cell. In the past 48 hours, he got three incoming calls, all from the same number."

"We get a name?"

Kono fielded this question, "No, it's a burner. But it's on right now, and we triangulated a position."

"What's the location?"

Knowing her boss as she did, Kono kept her voice calm and steady, "It's an office building in Chinatown. There's only one tenant. It's a consulting firm owned by an Edward Cobb."

"Edward Cobb? Who's Edward Cobb? And why the hell is he coming after us?"

Chin, sensing Steve's agitation and knowing it was only going to get worse just plowed right on through, "Edward Cobb is ex-CIA. He ran black ops in Southeast Asia back in the '70s."

Steve's brain went in to overdrive as he put everything together. "This was never about Five-0." The realization that this bastard has been coming after him, and him alone, and that one innocent man had died, and dozens of others including his partner, his girlfriend, and other members of his team had been put at risk filled him with fury. He looked to Kono. "What's the address?"

"Boss…" Kono looked to Chin for support, wanting to keep Steve from going off half-cocked.

Chin put his hand on Steve's shoulder, "Steve."

Steve shook his head and stepped away. "I'm fine, Chin. But this ends now." They knew there was no arguing with him, and gave him the number for the burner cell as well as the address and suite number for the office building. "I'm doing this alone. I don't want anyone coming after me. Tell Catherine I'll see her at home." He was speaking to them as their team leader, issuing orders that he expected to be followed. He looked at both his teammates, square in the eyes, one after the other. "Do _not_ tell her where I'm going." He knew there would be hell to pay, but he knew, _knew_ she would want to back him up, to follow him and he couldn't involve her, wouldn't put her at risk from this madman and the others like him.

* * *

Steve arrived at the address he had been given and began a methodical search of the building, clearing many of the floors quickly and easily. He was astounded as what he perceived to be a lack of security measures and shook his head thinking, 'What a cocky bastard.' Finally, on one of the upper floors he found a closed door and by listening in he was able to discern the television news of the rescue playing inside.

Wanting to be sure his target was in the office, he stepped away from the door, pulled his phone out of his left pocket and dialed the number for the burner cell.

"Looks like you had a bad day, Commander," the man said by way of greeting.

"Not as bad as you would've liked. I know you set me up to keep me quiet about Cambodia. But I'm still here."

"Question is: Have you gotten the message?" Steve could just picture the man leaning back in his chair, thinking he was untouchable, and couldn't wait to burst his bubble.

He proceeded over to the office door, having determined previously that the door wasn't locked, turned the knob with his left hand, entering the office. Edward Cobb, surprised by his foe's entrance, disconnected the call on his end and sat there, leaning back as Steve has pictured him, cool as a cucumber by all appearances, but Steve knew better. He stood directly in front of the desk, his weapon in his right hand but being held non-threateningly at his side and fixed his gaze on the man for several seconds before he answered the question with a simple, "No."

Cobb placed his phone down on the desk in front of him and placed both hands on top of the flat surface.

Steve gestured to the television to his left before speaking, his voice low and holding an edge, "That's pretty clever. They would've pulled three bodies out of that rubble, assumed that Dekker's brother was killed for payback and Five-0 got caught in the middle. No one ever would've suspected that this was all about keeping me from asking questions you didn't want answered."

Cobb kept his posture relaxed but dropped both hands below the desktop, a move which did not go unnoticed by the SEAL, before he replied, "You should've listened to Sam, left this alone.

Steve voice increased in intensity and his anger was palpable. "An innocent man died today. For no reason. And dozens, dozens of innocent lives were put in danger, all to clean up a mess that you made 40 years ago! Now what happened in Cambodia? Who was buried in that grave?" Steve wanted answers, and this man was damn sure going to give them to him. He waited a moment and when Cobb didn't answer, he raised his weapon and pointed it squarely at the man in front of him.

To his credit, Cobb never flinched as he told Steve, "Consider your next move very carefully."

In the span of about a second, Steve swung his weapon to the left and fired one round into the computer sitting on the desktop before quickly returning his aim to the man behind it. His voice held an obvious threat and a deadly calm when he spoke. "You consider yours." He paused a beat before continuing. "I still got DNA from that grave, and I'm gonna run it. So you might as well tell me who it belongs to."

"Lei Kuan Fat. Wo Fat's mother."

"Why would you cover that up?"

"Because it wasn't supposed to be her in that grave. Our target was Wo Fat's father, but the op went bad. My agent on the ground disappeared, leaving me to clean up her mess."

Steve considered Cobb's words for a moment but came to the realization that something didn't add up. "That agent was my mother." Cobb verified that with a quirk of his eyebrow. "But she went on to work for the agency, while you were forced out. She didn't botch the job, you ordered an unsanctioned hit that went bad." He studied Cobb's expression carefully, and everything about it told Steve he was correct. "Wo Fat's father is still alive, isn't he?"

Cobb removed his glasses and set them down, "Do you have any idea the fallout if that ever came to light?"

"Where is he?"

"Sit down. I'll tell you." Cobb had no intention of letting this son of Doris McGarrett live, and had been fingering the gun strapped to the underside of the desktop. He pulled it, but Steve was quicker and put one in the left side of the man's chest. He moved quickly to the chair, to check for a pulse but didn't find one; the man had died instantly.

Steve closed his eyes and dropped his head, he was reeling from what he'd just been told, and also regretting that Cobb had forced his hand before giving him all the answers he was seeking. He knew the shooting had been justified but now he had just another mess that had to be cleaned up and a whole new aspect of the puzzle to solve. As the adrenaline dissipated he realized he was tired. God, was he tired.

He pulled out his phone and called Chin, telling him what happened and asking him to come over to the address with HPD. He didn't touch anything else, knowing the scene now needed to be processed and instead backed up to the wall opposite the desk, sank to the floor and rested his arm on his bent knees, studying the dead body of ex-CIA agent Edward Cobb while he waited for the cavalry.

* * *

It didn't take Chin long to get to Chinatown as he had been expecting a call from Steve, and he entered the office to find the SEAL sitting on the floor looking somehow broken. He crossed the room and offered the man a hand up, which was gladly taken. Once Steve was vertical Chin studied his face, "You all right?"

Steve nodded tiredly. "Yeah," he sighed. "I've got some answers and a hell of a lot more questions".

Just then, Duke Lukela arrived trailed by a couple of CSU techs. He nodded at Five-0's leader, "Steve. Everything okay here?" Steve nodded in reply. "The ME's on his way, should be here in about 10." Steve acknowledged Max's ETA with another tired nod and Duke continued, "What happened here?"

Steve proceeded to answer Duke's questions, giving as much information as possible about what had transpired, but leaving out the details about the grave in Cambodia, Wo Fat's mother and father, and a CIA op gone bad. He told them that Cobb was ex-CIA, had been Doris' handler at one point, and this was about an old score he wanted to settle with her. He told Duke that Cobb had orchestrated the bombing and subsequent building collapse, and that after Chin and Kono had tracked the man down Steve went to confront him. They all knew and trusted the commander, and with the gun in Cobb's hand as evidence of self-defense, Steve was permitted to go on his way as the scene was processed.

Chin offered to accompany him to the hospital, since he still hadn't been checked out after being rescued, but Steve really just wanted to go home. He could see that Chin was hesitant, concerned for his friend and wanted to reassure him.

"Chin, I know what to look for, medically. Catherine and I both know the warning signs and if I exhibit any of them I'll go to the hospital. Trust me," he added ruefully, "Cath will make sure of it."

Chin smiled and shook his head, "Yeah, she's pretty determined when she wants to be."

Steve returned his friend's smile, thinking of his pretty lieutenant. His smile faded though, with his next words, "How uh, how angry was she?" He paused to scratch at the stubble on his chin, "Exactly?"

Chin put his hand on Steve's shoulder as a show of support, "Brah, I'm glad I'm not in your shoes".

Steve dropped his head and sighed. Time to face the music, he supposed, although he wouldn't have done anything differently.

* * *

Steve arrived home to find Catherine waiting at the door for him. He was surprised to find her expression was not one of anger, but rather compassion. She gestured him in and shut the door behind him. She had obviously had a shower and was clad in what appeared to be very comfortable yoga pants and one of his Navy t-shirts that was a few sizes too big for her. Her hair was loose around her shoulders and he longed to touch it, touch her, but knew he should clean up first.

"How are you feeling?" She asked gently. She could tell by the dirt on his face, and the cuts that hadn't been treated that he had not been to the hospital and knew that she would make him go if she wanted to, but was deciding whether it was worth the argument. She figured she could evaluate him more fully once he was relaxed, and if she deemed an ER visit necessary, they would go.

"I'm good". This was his stock answer and the one Catherine had fully expected to receive.

"How 'bout a shower?"

"Only if you'll take one with me." She didn't look convinced. "Come on, you can wash my back." She had a hard time resisting him when he was like this, but she wanted to. She kept looking at him, so dirty and so tired, watching her with those puppy dog eyes, and she wanted to take care of him, to clean up and bandage the cuts on his face, and the ones she wasn't even aware of elsewhere on his body. So, she agreed and slung his arm over her shoulders to help him up the stairs.

* * *

He stepped under the warm spray, hissing as it stung the cuts and abrasions on his face and hands. He stood for a moment, feeling the water relax his muscles when Catherine's arms wrapped around him from behind. She pulled back and turned him so she could see the front of him. He watched as her eyes roamed every inch of his body and he let her catalogue his visible injuries. Besides, he really didn't mind the sight of the naked, wet woman in front of him. Not at all.

She soaped a cloth and tsked over the cuts on his face as she gently cleaned them with soap and then an antibacterial solution she had grabbed from the first aid kit. Then she worked on his chest and arms, finally working her way down to his legs and feet. When his body was clean, she poured some of his shampoo in her hand and he leaned his head back so she could reach to gently wash his hair, feeling constantly for bumps. He flinched a couple of times when she hit a sensitive spot and she murmured an apology. He was perfectly capable of washing his own hair, and she knew it, but he let her continue, knowing she needed to do this, to assure herself he really was okay. And to be honest, he was kind of enjoying it.

When she was finished she directed him back under the spray to rinse the shampoo, and gently ran her fingers through his hair until it was clean and lather-free. When he could sense she was done, he turned around to face her and pulled her into the circle of his arms, holding her close.

She murmured into his chest, but he couldn't hear her over the water so he put a finger under her chin so he could see her face. He studied her face, seeing the droplets of water all over it. "What?" he asked her, cocking his head to the side.

She looked up at him for a moment before she answered. "I said, 'I was worried'. I know I told you I never worried, but that wasn't true, I was scared to death."

He pulled her to him and held her against his strong chest. "I know you were. I was too. I couldn't bear the thought that I might not get Danny out alive, that Grace might lose her father. And before you called…" He stepped back again to smile at her, "Nice one, by the way", he enfolded her in his arms once more, "I was scared that you hadn't made it out safely." He smiled into her hair, "I couldn't believe it when I saw your name pop up on the caller ID. Cellular repeater?"

She nodded, tucked in under his chin as the warm water streamed down on them.

"How'd you get it down there?"

She pulled back and looked up at him. "Can we talk about this later? I think we're going to turn into prunes."

He smiled and nodded before turning off the water.

She stepped out first and grabbed a towel off the rack, drying herself off. He followed her out and followed suit. She wrapped the towel around her hair and donned a short robe as he wrapped a towel around his waist.

She opened the first aid kit, finding the antibiotic ointment and gently spread some on the cuts on his face. A couple of them had started oozing again, so she applied a few butterfly bandages to each one. She gently dabbed at them with gauze, but stilled when he reached up to touch the cuts and abrasions on her face. Someone had done a good job cleaning them up, maybe she had done it herself, but it still pained him to see the reminders of their close call that day. He sighed, gently tracing the one on her left cheek with his thumb.

"I know how you feel", she told him, tracing the similarly placed wound on Steve's face.

He stopped her with a hand on her arm, "They're good. You did a good job," before he dropped his head and captured her lips softly with his. The quickly turned deep, and passionate, each of them drinking in the taste and feel of the other, wanting never to let go, but eventually the need to breathe overwhelmed and they broke apart panting.

Steve felt his body reacting to her, having her so close, and suddenly he felt renewed, energized, the fatigue gone for the moment. He leaned in again, unable to get enough of the feel of her mouth on his and walked them backwards toward the adjoining bedroom. Without further ado he undid the tie on her robe and pushed it off her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor around her feet, and gently pushed her down on the bed. God, she was beautiful. He let the towel drop from his waist and joined her, covering her body with his and proceeded to demonstrate to her how happy he was to be alive.

* * *

Some time later they were curled up on the bed with only the sheet haphazardly pulled over both of them, Catherine's head and damp hair on Steve's chest and his left arm stroking her back. They were both quiet, lost in their own thoughts and enjoying having the other close.

"Where'd you go?" Catherine's question, seemingly out of the blue, surprised Steve and his hand stilled. She felt his body tense slightly, but he didn't answer her so she continued. "Chin would only tell me you had figured out who was responsible for the bombing and went after him. What I still don't understand is why he wouldn't give me more information and why you didn't take anyone with you."

"I told him not to tell you where I was going."

That information caused her to push up so she could look down at him. He, in turn, sat up in the bed and leaned against the headboard so she moved to a sitting position, leaning on one hand across from him. "Why would you do that? Why would -"

He interrupted, not wanting her to go where he thought she was headed. "Hey, I had every intention of telling you. _After_. I couldn't take the risk you would follow me, try to back me up."

She shook her head because it sounded like Steve was telling her he didn't trust her to have his back. "Steve, I don't -"

Once again he interrupted her. "Hey". He reached out to touch her, to reassure her, and tried not to feel hurt when she moved away. He shifted, sitting up straighter so he could lean forward, letting her know he was serious. "I couldn't ask for better back up than you. That's not it at all."

"Then what?"

"The person behind the bomb, the set up, everything, was a man named Edward Cobb. He's ex-CIA and used to run black ops back in the '70s. When I found that out I realized this whole thing was never about Five-0, it was about getting to _me_ and as a result dozens of people could have been killed."

Catherine relaxed a bit, she could see that Steve was truly bothered by this so she gave him time to continue.

"I didn't want you there because I can't have you involved. I've been keeping you at a distance from this thing, these leftovers from Doris' past because I don't want someone else hurting you to get to me."

"Steve," Catherine admonished, "You know I can take care of myself."

He shook his head. "I know. But so can I, and I could have died down there today. This guy was dangerous, Cath, and I couldn't bear it if I lost you." He reached out for her again and this time she let him cradle her cheek and leaned into his touch.

"What happened?"

"He's dead. I confronted him at his office and shot him when he went for a concealed weapon under the desk."

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yes and no." Catherine frowned when Steve didn't elaborate, so he continued. "You know about the grave in Cambodia, and that we didn't find a body in it. It turns out Cobb ordered an off-the-books hit 40 years ago that went wrong and my mother was the agent he tried to pin it on. He was forced out of the agency, though, and has been protecting his secret ever since."

"So, did you find out who was buried there?"

He signed heavily, "I can't." He knew his words were hurting her when she moved away from his touch again. "Cath, I can't. This is too big, too dangerous, and I can't take the chance of someone coming after you. I need to protect you from this, and I need you to promise me, _promise_ me, that you will not go looking into this on your own."

"Steve."

"Catherine."

They looked at each other for several seconds, both of their expressions defiant, but it was the pleading she saw in Steve's eyes that caused Catherine to finally cave. "Fine."

"Promise me", he gently insisted.

She sighed and visibly deflated a bit. "I promise. I won't do any research on my own, but I still wish you'd let me in, let me help, support you on this."

"You have no idea how much I want that, too, but with this…", he trailed off.

She could tell that she wasn't going to get him to budge, and that this was important to him so she backed down - slightly. "Okay. I trust you Steve, and I'll keep my distance from this for now. But if someone comes after you again, all bets are off."

He didn't like her condition - wanted to her to stay as far away as possible from everything related to Wo Fat and his mother's CIA past, but he knew what he was asking and that he would have to compromise. "I can live with that." He reached out again and cradled her to his chest, feeling her relax against him. He was relaxed, as well, almost too relaxed, as he wasn't ready to fall asleep yet. They lay that way for a couple of minutes until Steve broke the silence again, speaking softly, "God, I'm famished. That sushi sounds pretty good right about now."

She laughed against his chest, mostly at the huge yawn he failed to suppress. "Maybe another time? We would probably be quite the sight, both naked and with you falling asleep in your sashimi."

Steve chucked softly, "You're probably right about that."

Catherine suggested an alternative. "Omelets in bed?"

"I could eat an omelet, but you don't have to bring it to me, I'll come down."

"Whatever you want." She disentangled herself from the sheet and climbed off the bed, reaching over to pick up the clothes she had discarded earlier. She glanced back over at him as she got dressed, noticing how tired he looked. "You going to be able to stay awake?"

He threw off the sheet and rotated so his legs were off the side of the bed. "Uh huh, I'm getting up right now."

She smiled at how his efforts to get up stopped, seeing how exhausted he really was. She sat down next to him on the bed and put her hand on his right leg. "You know, I know you're hungry and I don't mind bringing one up to you if you want to stay up here and take a nap."

"Thanks, but I'd rather be with you, so I'll come down."

She smiled, appreciating his sentiment because she felt exactly the same way. "Okay, I'll go down and get started. See you in a couple of minutes?"

"Yeah. I'm right behind you."

She smiled at her SEAL before heading into the hall. He heard her footfalls on the stairs and then the sound of cabinets closing and pans being shuffled in the kitchen.

He leaned back against the pillows for a moment, thinking how lucky he was to have her in his life. He hated keeping things from her, but knew he was making the right decision in keeping her out of the loop on this. Somebody had already come after her once to get to him, and he couldn't risk that happening again.

He smiled as he got off the bed and pulled a pair of shorts out of a drawer. The scents of sausage frying coupled with onions and peppers sautéing reached his nose and his stomach rumbled. He had expected her to whip up something simple, but she was really going all out down there. He supposed it didn't surprise him. He had heard her say, on more than one occasion, 'If something is worth doing, it's worth doing well'. She took that approach in many aspects of her life and it made her a force of nature sometimes. He recalled her words from just minutes ago; _if someone comes after you again, all bets are off_. He truly hoped it would never come to that, but he pitied the poor fools because he would bet on his lieutenant every time. He walked out of the bedroom and headed toward the stairs. He shook his head and couldn't help quietly uttering the words that ran through his head "Give 'em hell, Rollins".


End file.
